Sicily airports: at which airport land to go to Sicily?

Where to choose to land to go to Sicily and visit the largest island in the Mediterranean? Focus on Sicily airports!

During the preparation of a trip to Sicily, the largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea, the first question is what airport to choose to start its journey in Sicily. The island, which extends from Calabria, is home to two of the largest cities in Italy: Catania (10th) and Palermo (5th), with 315,576 inhabitants and 676,118 people respectively. It is at one of the two major airports in Sicily – Catania-Fontanarossa Airport and Palermo Falcone-Borsellino International Airport – one on the northwest coast and the other on the east coast, that you will land.

On a trip to Sicily in August 2018, we arrived at Catania Airport. Here is our return of experience and advice to visit the island following the airport in Sicily where we arrive.

Landing at Palermo Airport

Palermo being the largest city in Sicily, many direct flights connect France to Palermo airport. There are low-cost companies with competitive prices: less than 100 € from Paris for 2 h 30 flight. Here again, it will be cheaper at the airports of Toulouse-Blagnac and Marseille-Provence. On arrival in Sicily, several solutions are possible to reach the city centre of Palermo: the train, the bus, the taxi. Count 20 minutes for 6 € by bus, 25 minutes for a train connection (from 2,50 €).

Which airports in Sicily prefer to visit the island? Land in Palermo if you are interested in Sicily in the west and southwest. Around Palermo, we found the best Sicily sites to our tastes: the San Vito lo Capo peninsula. Careful, the sandy beach – rare in Sicily – is too crowded, which is why it is better to descend along the western coast of the peninsula if you don’t like being amoncerated to ten on a grain of sand. By descending from the heights, we arrive shortly before the village of Macari, in the public baths of Bue Marino Beach. Free parking allows you to park (a "spot" dreamed of campers to spend the night), to go down to the sea by borrowing steep rock criques.

The Zingaro nature reserve is also one of the unmissable of the Sicilian west coast. More to the west, go to Trapani and board on a ferry to spend a day or two on the Egades Islands – Levanzo, Favignana and Marettimo. During your stay, enjoy it to visit the city of Marsala and, on the south coast, the famous archaeological park of Agrigento. Note that the sea on the south coast is subjected to different winds, and is therefore cooler – or less hot – than on the Tyrrhenian coast.

Landing at Catania Airport

At the departure of a French city, there are several direct flights or stopovers to Catania, at a frequency of one to two flights a day. Low-cost companies are Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea, which sometimes offer tickets less than 100 € depending on the departure airport and the season. This Sicily airport is the 6th largest airport in Italy, 6.2 million travellers per year. We can find a round-trip Paris-Catania flight from 150 €. Toulouse and Marseille airports offer very competitive prices, especially off-season. Transfer from Catania Fontanarossa Airport to the city centre by bus can be quite confusing because there are many companies: the AST, Circumetnea, ETNA Trasporti, Giuntabus, Interbus, SAIS and ALIBUS shuttles. But it'll be much cheaper than the cab.

Which airport in Sicily choose? If you want to start with visit Taormina and its ancient vestiges, randonner sur l’Etna , see Syracuse and the beautiful beaches of the south-east of Sicily (the coves of Ognina, Fontane Blanche or Marina di Avola), or to explore the Tyrrhenian coast (Milazzo and Capo d’Orlando, the Eolie Islands) it is obviously at Catania airport that you have to land. If you rent a car, note that it is faster to travel on the north of the island thanks to the highways, but there is not one in the south. So allow more time if you go to Syracuse. The editorial board advises you to favour a restricted area if your stay is rather short: Sicily is a very large island, very populated – especially in the summer – and an overly ambitious route may make you miss many interesting sites.

Land at Trapani Airport

Located in equidistance between Marsala and Trapani, and 1h30 from Palermo road, Trapani Airport has been experiencing a boom for several years due to the installation of low-cost companies such as Ryanair. Sicily’s third airport is an alternative to Palermo airport. If you choose to land at Trapani Airport and want to reach Palermo, you will have to take a shuttle (11€).

As with the Palermo airport, this Sicily airport is the ideal destination for you to visit the eastern half of Sicily, or even the south, if you plan to take your flight back to Catania airport.

Main photo credit: Flickr – Tommie Hansen